Monday, September 15, 2014

The Everything Store

The Everything Store by journalist Brad Stone came out in 2013. It’s about Amazon.com, which launched in 1995.

However, there was an Everything Store that predated both the book and the site.

“The Everything Store” was actually its nickname. Its name name was Towers Pharmacy.

1978

It was in New Haven, CT. It had an old-fashioned, S-shaped, speckle-countered luncheonette. It had a post office. It had a Cheers-like cast of employees and regulars.

It was popular with Yale faculty and students (including Flashdance actress Jennifer Beals, who once did a school photography assignment in the store) and Yale Repertory Theatre performers including James Earl Jones, Christopher Walken, Hal Linden, among many others.

the luncheonette

And from 1979 to 1987, it was my dad’s.

the pharmacist at work, 1986

At least once I (age tween) helped the cook make eggs for a customer. On Saturday mornings, I took classes at the nearby Creative Arts Workshop and my sister and I would hang out at the store before and after; one of my jobs was cutting the plastic binds off the new stacks of newspapers. There was a small toy section in the back. I was excited when the store added a small spinner rack of cassettes. I’d eagerly anticipate trips to the nearby comic book store where I binged on new releases (60 cents apiece) and back issues alike.

the luncheonette menu

One night there was a break-in and my dad had to go down there in the wee hours to assess the damage. One day he did the Heimlich maneuver on a choking customer and saved her life.

preparations for Hurricane Gloria, 1985

(The photos here are the only known ones we have of Towers.)

When I was starting my sophomore year of high school, my dad sold the store. One September afternoon, my friends Mike and Seth and I went there to help pack up the inventory. My family hoarded quite a few birthday cards for future use.

After that, the building became, among other things, a Korean restaurant.

* Fairy Spell (nonfiction picture book about the two girls in WWI England took photos of what they claimed were real fairies); illustrated by Eliza Wheeler; Clarion* Thirty Minutes Over Oregon (nonfiction picture book about the unprecedented accomplishment—and redemption—of a Japanese WWII pilot), illustrated by Melissa Iwai; Clarion

“[N]o library in the world could object to the book’s style and panache. [T]his is one biography that’s going to lure the kids like nothing else. More fun than any children’s biography has any right to be.”—A Fuse #8 Production (School Library Journal blog; four out of five stars)

“Fascinating.”—Horn Book

“Sure to become a classic example of the genre.”—Families Online

“Wonderful…young readers…will find this…title appealing and thereby ensure that future generations recall the amazing story behind Superman’s creation as well. Wait, did I say ‘recall’? Strike that—make it ‘will be inspired by’ instead. This book is that good.”—Firefox News

“[T]ouching... The illustrated section...is upbeat, entertaining, and informative...the [well-crafted] afterword shows the shadow side of the great American dream. ...Nobleman is equally adept at both stories.”—Boston Globe

“Surprisingly poignant.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Haunting.”—Geek Monthly

“Excellent.”—GeekDad (a WIRED blog)

“A-minus.”—A.V. Club (the entertainment review arm of The Onion)

“The best and most accurate depiction of their lives in print.”—Brad Ricca, documentary filmmaker, Last Son, and later author of Super Boys

“Engrossing...wonderful.”—Scripps Howard News Service

“I was completely mesmerized by this book from the first instant I opened it. I loved every page, and every word. Boys of Steel transported me; it made me feel young; it moved me to tears. Honest to God, it did! It caused my black heart to melt. The book is absolutely fantastic, the book is tremendous, the book is a huge achievement.”—Robby Reed, DIAL B for BLOG